Improvement in revolving fire-arms



R. WHITE.

Revolver..

Patented Apr. 13, 1858.

METERS, PHOTOIIJTHOGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNHED STATES PATENT" Oli-FIGB.'

R. VHITE, OF HARTFORD, OONNEOTIOUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN REVOLVING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 19,961, dated April 13,1858.

To all 107mm t may concern:

Be it known that I, RoLLiN WHITE, of the city of Hartford, in the countyof Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Repeating Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming pa-rt of thisspecication, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of a pistol withmy improvements, exhibiting the barrel and cylinder partly in section.Fig. y2 is a transverse section ofthe same in the line x x of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a central section of the cylinder, partly in section, andshowing a modification of the invention. Fig. 4L is a section of therotating breech detached from the cylinder. Figs. 5 and 6 are face viewsof the rotating breech.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

These improvements relate to that class of fire-arms known asrevolvers,7 in which the many-chambered cylinder is arranged to rotateon an axis that' is parallel, or nearly so, with the stationary barrel.

The flrstimprovement consists in enlarging the chambers, or aportionthereof, toward the rear, when the whole or a portion of the chamberedcylinder is made in aseparate piece from the breech, for the purpose ofallowing the cylinder, or the portion thereof that is detached from thebreech, to be driven forward in contact with the stationary barrel tomake a tight joint therewith by the force of the explosions of thecharges.

A second improvement consists in making the detached breech of arotating chambered cylinder rotate with the cylinder, thereby obviatingany stoppage to the rotation of the cylinder by the protrusion ofthecartridge through the rear of the chambers; and a third improvementconsists in a certain construction of the rotating breech for thepurposeof allowing the hammer to strike into the chambers and explode apriming in the rear end of the cartridge without usinganeedleoradetached primingsuch as a cap, pill, or ribbon.

y To enable others to make and use myinven- \tion,\1 will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

A is the stationary barrel, connected with the stock C by the usualframe, B, a portion, c, ofv

which constitutes the recoil-shield. b is the fixed arbor upon which thechambered cylinder E and the breech F rotate. The rotating chamberedcylinder E and the rotating breech are fitted together with face-jointsround the chambers c c, and the front end of the cylinder andthe barrelmay be tted together with similar or any other kind of joints. Thecylinder is shown in Fig. 1 as being divided transversely into twopartsat the line d d, as Well asbeingmadeseparatefromthebreechF. Thedivision at d d will, however, never be necessary when the breech ismade in a separate piece, and the chambers are extended right throughthe cylinder; but the drawing Fig.

1 is made'to illustrate two methods of carrying out the first part of myinvention-to wit, the construction of the whole of the chamberedcylinder, and the construction of a portion only thereof' to be drivenforward against the barrel by the force of the explosion.

The proper construction for the chambered cylinder, when the breech ismade in a separate piece, is exhibited in Fig. 3, where it is shown thatthe chambers c c are enlarged toward the rear, while in Fig. 1 only thefront portion of the chamber is enlarged toward its rear. The sameeffect is produced by either construction, for it is obvious that theforce of the explosion will exert itself in a forward direction upon thesides ofthe chambers in such a way as to drive either the wholecylinder, or any such portion thereof as may be detached from the breechand contains an enlargement of the chambers, in a rearward direction.The forward movement of the whole or a portion of the cylinder in themanner above described will cause-a looseness at the junction ofthechambered cylinder with the breech, or at the joint d el; but I intendto obviate windage at this joint by the use of cartridges with metalcases of suitable construction.

The rotary breech F is or may be made substantially the same form aswhen it constitutes an immovable portion of the chambered cylinder, andmay derive its rotary motion from the hammer or. trigger in a similarmanner. The chambered cylinder E is caused to rotate with the breech bya pin, e, that is secured to the former, and enters a hole, e', in

the face of the latter, as shown in Fig. l, or vice versa, which permitsof as much forward movement ofthe cylinder as may be requisite. When thecylinder is divided, as atdd,asimi lar pin is employed to canse therotation of the forward portion with theportion attached to the breech.

To enable the cartridges to be exploded by striking them directly withthe hammer a recess, t', is formed in the face of the rotating breech Fat the back of each chamber, either in the concave form exhibited inFigs. 3 and 6, which is intended to receive the concaveformed rear endof a cartridge, or in the annular form exhibited in Fig. 1, to receivean annular projection at the rear of the cartridge, or in the form of asmall central cavity, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to receivea nipple-likeprojection on the rear of the cartridge. A series of notches, j j', arecnt in the periphery of the breech deep enough to meet the recesses M,one for each, to enable the hammer H, swinging in the manner most commonin irearms, to strike into the recesses z' t, and thus to cut into orthrough those parts of the cartridges which project therewith, whichparts contain some percussive priming, and hence theexplosioniseftected.The hammerHshould be made to fit into the notches j'j, and up to therear of the chambered cylinders, when it is down, in such a manner as toclose those portions of the chambers which the breech by reason of itsnotches j j fails to close. The

notches jj serve to admit a pin to push the shell or any portion of anexploded cartridge forward out of the chambers.

I do not here intend to claim extending the chambers right through therear of the rotating cylinder, as that forms part of the subjectmatterof Letters Patent of the United States obtained by me dated 3d April,1855; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The enlargement of the chambers in the rotating cylinder, or in aportion thereof, in a rearward direction, when such cylinder or portionthereof is detached from the breech, and thereby rendered capable bysuch enlargement of being driven forward, substantially as described,into contact with the stationary barrel for the purpose of preventingwindage.

2. Making the detached breech of the rotating chambered cylinder rotatewith the said cylinder, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. Constructing the breech ofthe revolving cylinder with a recess, z',in its face at the back of each chamber, and a notch, j, in itsperiphery meeting the said recess, substantially as described, so thatthe hammer H, swinging in the manner most common to tire-arms, maystrike into the chambers and cut or tear and and thereby explode thecartridge.

4. The fitting of the hammer to close that portion of the breech whichis left open by the notches jj.

ROLLIN WHITE.

Witnesses:

A. W. BAILEY, D. P. WHITE.

